Child, Lee, Author/Editor; Brown, Sandra; Box, C.J.; Mcdermid, Val; & 18 More. MATCHUP. Simon & Schuster. June '17. $27.00. From the publisher: "In this incredible follow-up to the New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller FACEOFF, twenty-two of the world's most popular thriller writers come together for an unforgettable anthology. MATCHUP takes the never-before-seen bestseller pairings of FACEOFF and adds a delicious new twist: gender. Eleven of the world's best female thriller writers from Diana Gabaldon to Charlaine Harris are paired with eleven of the world's best male thriller writers, including John Sandford, C.J. Box, and Nelson DeMille. The stories are edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child and feature: Lee Coburn and Joe Pickett in 'Honor & ...' by Sandra Brown and C.J. Box. Tony Hill and Roy Grace in 'Footloose' by Val McDermid and Peter James.Temperance Brennan and Jack Reacher in 'Faking a Murderer' by Kathy Reichs and Lee Child. Jamie Fraser and Cotton Malone in 'Past Prologue' by Diana Gabaldon and Steve Berry. Liz Sansborough and Rambo in 'Rambo on Their Minds' by Gayle Lynds and David Morrell.Jeffrey Tolliver and Joe Pritchard in 'Short Story' by Karin Slaughter and Michael Koryta. Harper Connelly and Ty Hauck in 'Dig Here' by Charlaine Harris and Andrew Gross. Regan Pescoli and Virgil Flowers in 'Deserves to be Dead' by Lisa Jackson and John Sandford. Lucan Thorne and Lilliane in 'Midnight Flame' by Lara Adrian and Christopher Rice. Bennie Rosato and John Corey in 'Getaway' by Lisa Scottoline and Nelson DeMille. Ali Reynolds and Bravo Shaw in 'Taking the Veil' by J.A. Jance and Eric Van Lustbader." Available in trade paperback. June '18. $16.00.

Estleman, Loren D. NEARLY NERO: The Adventures of Claudius Lyon, the Man Who Would Be Wolfe. Gallery Books. May '17. $24.99. From the publisher: "Based on the Nero Wolfe series - one of the longest running, critically acclaimed, and bestselling series in the crime fiction world - a collection of Nero Wolfe-inspired crime stories from one of the most prominent crime writers of his era. From 1934 until his death in 1976, Rex Stout entertained the world with the exploits of Nero Wolfe - the eccentric, orchid-breeding detective genius - as related by Archie Goodwin, his irreverent legman. Nearly Nero is an affectionate, tongue-in-cheek homage to Stout's greatest creation. Claudius Lyon is a fanatic admirer of Wolfe. He has retrofitted himself and his townhouse after Wolfe's and has hired a man named Arnie Woodbine to serve as his Archie Goodwin. However, Lyon's naivete and Woodbine's larcenous nature constantly put them in jeopardy - more than Wolfe and Goodwin ever faced. Somehow the imitator manages to find a solution from every problem. But can he and his assistant keep up this pretense for long?"

Klinger, Leslie S., editor. IN THE SHADOW OF AGATHA CHRISTIE: Classic Crime Fiction by Forgotten Female Writers 1850-1917. Pegasus Books. January '18. $25.95. "Before Agatha Christie became the world's Queen of Crime, she stood on the talented shoulders of the female crime authors who came before her. This splendid new anthology by Leslie S. Klinger brings these exceptional writers out of Christie's shadow and back into the spotlight they deserve. Agatha Christie is undoubtedly the world's best-selling mystery author, hailed as the 'Queen of Crime,' with worldwide sales in the billions. Christie burst onto the literary scene in 1920, with The Mysterious Affair at Styles; her last novel was published in 1976, a career longer than even Conan Doyle's forty-year span. The truth is that it was due to the success of writers like Anna Katherine Green in Americ, L.T. Meade, C.L. Pirkis, the Baroness Orczy, and Elizabeth Corbett in England, and Mary Fortune in Australia that the doors were finally opened for women crime-writers. Authors who followed them, such as Patricia Wentworth, Dorothy Sayers, and, of course, Agatha Christie would not have thrived without the bold, fearless work of their predecessors - and the genre would be much poorer for their absence. So while Agatha Christie may still reign supreme, it is important to remember that she did not ascend that throne except on the shoulders of the women who came before her - and inspired her - and who are now removed from her shadow once and for all by this superb new anthology by Leslie S. Klinger. Featuring: Mary Fortune, Harriet Prescott Spofford, Ellen Wood, Elizabeth Corbett, C.L. Pirkis, Geraldine Bonner, Ellen Glasgow, L.T. Meade, Baroness Orczy, Augusta Grober, M.E. Graddon, Anna Katherine Green, Carolyn Wells, and Susan Glashell."

Meier, Leslie; Hollis, Lee; & Ross, Barbara. EGGNOG MURDER. Kensington Books. November '17 $7.99. "With the fireplace crackling, the tree twinkling, and the carols humming, few things in life are as picture perfect as Christmas in Maine - until murder dampens the holiday spirit. It must be something in the eggnog... 'EGGNOG MURDER' by Leslie Meier: When a gift-wrapped bottle of eggnog - allegedly from the Real Beard Santa Club - proves to be a killer concoction for a Tinker's Cove local, all Lucy Stone wants for Christmas is to find the murdering mixologist who's stirring up trouble. 'DEATH BY EGGNOG' by Lee Hollis: Food and cocktails columnist Hayley Powell has never cared much for Bar Harbor's grouchy town librarian, Agatha Farnsworth. But after the Scroogy senior has a fatal - and suspicious - allergic reaction to supposedly non-dairy eggnog, it's up to Hayley to ladle out some justice. 'NOGGED OFF' by Barbara Ross: Julia Snowden's tenant Imogen Geinkes seems to be jinxed. First, her poorly named 'Killer Eggnog' gives all her co-workers food poisoning at the holiday party, then her boyfriend's body shows up in Julia's moving truck as she's headed back to Busman's Harbor. Now Julia has to get moving to catch the cold-hearted culprit. Cozy up with a glass of eggnog and enjoy the spirit of murder and mystery in a Yultide treat perfect for those winter holidays..."

Penzler, Otto, editor. BIBLIOMYSTERIES: Stories of Crime in the World of Books and Bookstores. Pegasus Books. August '17. $26.95. "Specially commissioned by the Mysterious Bookshop, the 'biblio-mysteries' in this unique collection feature original stories by the genre's most distinguished authors: Ken Bruen, Reed Farrel Coleman, Loren D. Estleman, Nelson DeMille, Anne Perry, Jeffery Deaver, C. J. Box, Thomas H. Cook, Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins, and Laura Lippman. If you open your dictionary, you will discover that there is no such word as 'bibliomystery.' However, most mystery readers know that the word refers to a mystery story that involves the world of books: a bookshop, a rare volume, a library, a collector, or a bookseller. Here you will discover Sigmund Freud dealing with an unwelcome visitor; Columbo confronting a murderous bookseller; a Mexican cartel kingpin with a fatal weakness for rare books; and deadly secrets deep in the London Library; plus books with hidden messages, beguiling booksellers, crafty collectors, and a magical library that is guaranteed to enchant you. The stories have been published in seven languages... Who knew literature could be so lethal!" Available in trade paperback. August '18. $16.95.